NBA DFS Picks for April 23 2021

We have seven games for tonight’s slate, and it is looking like a happy balance of solid value without having too many options to choose from. Although there are only seven games today, a few of them should be high pace matchups with multiple injuries. As a result, there is a few teams we really like going after for tonight and our lineup will be somewhat spread out across the slate. One thing we want to touch on right away is the news that Trae Young is out for the near future with a sprained ankle. Young is the entire engine for Atlanta’s offence, with him out there is going to be a lot of opportunity for other guys to step up.  We are going stars and scrubs tonight, as we have a few cheap plays that look great. Beyond that, the top of this slate looks great, and we want to play a few stars. We just got some news that Boston is resting a lot of guys tonight, that pushes us to an even more aggressive stars and scrubs.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 4/23/21 (using DraftKings Values)

We did not lie when we said we are going for an aggressive stars and scrubs build tonight, as we are highlighting multiple guys under $4,000. The first guy we want to talk about tonight is Brandon Goodwin, who we expect to see a massive opportunity with Young out for Atlanta. Goodwin is the only healthy point guard for Atlanta tonight, which should mean a lot of run facilitating the offense. In the past two games without Young, Goodwin played 37 minutes in each game and scored well over 30 FPTS. Goodwin is only $3,400 tonight and could be in for ridiculous value in this spot tonight. With all the minutes he should be getting as point guard, it is hard not to feel safe with Goodwin at this price.

As much as we have great value plays for tonight, we also have equally enticing studs to spend up for. We have a few of our studs tonight, and some stars who will need to do everything for there teams. We must make some tough choices in terms of stars for this one, but one guy we know we want exposure to is Paul George. Kawhi Leonard remains sidelined with injury, and George is the clear-cut first option for the Clippers. We are getting George at $9,300 tonight, which we are happy to pay given his recent production and opportunity. George has been on fire lately, scoring over 50 FPTS in six of his last seven outings. Furthermore, we have seen George consistently get a bump in opportunity with Leonard off the floor, and he should have a lot of usage tonight. There is a ton of upside here, as everything is pointing to a big game for PG.

Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Romeo Langford was almost invisible in his 32 minutes on the floor last game for the Celtics. Regardless, Langford played 32 minutes and we are expecting similar run today. We are getting Langford at the bare minimum of $3,000 here and there is a lot of upside with this much floor time. No one is going to accuse Langford of being a good DFS producer, but if he is going to play mid 30’s minutes at minimum price he really does not have to be. Langford was the last guy in for us, and in this case we are taking some risk to buy a lot of upside elsewhere. However, if he is in the starting lineup again he does look like a solid value, regardless of the poor performance last time around.

Frankly, I am getting bored of writing about Russell Westbrook, but this writeup would not be credible without him included. Westbrook has been performing at crazy level lately, and he has been a lock for weeks now. Westbrook is doing his best to push the Wizards into the play-in game, which has translated to a consistent 60 piece in DFS. Looking at Westbrooks past 10 games, he has been over 60 FPTS seven times and over 55 FPTS in the other three. Westbrook has not scored under 55 FPTS in recent memory, and he has shown higher upside then anyone else has all season. DraftKings refuses to price players higher then $11,000, leading to silly situations like this where Westbrook will be the most underpriced on every slate. It is a simple situation right now, roster Westbrook until he stops playing like this.

Davis Bertans – PF ($4,300 DK) Bertans is a guy we are excited tonight as he should be in for a massive opportunity. The Wizards are missing two core forwards tonight in Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija and we expect that Bertans is to see a lot of time on the floor here. Bertans has been great lately, scoring over 30 FPTS in each of his last two outings. Bertans has worked his minutes up since he came back from injury, playing 30 minutes last game. It appears Bertans will be able to take on a huge role today, and that role will be available for him.

Jusuf Nurkic – C ($5,200 DK) Nurkic has had his season railroaded by injuries this year, however he appears to be in solid shape lately. The price on Nurkic is still down and he has been giving us good value for a few contests now. Nurkic is averaging 29 FPTS over the past ten days, and his minutes are trending steadily in the right direction. Nurkic played 29 minutes last game and we expect he could crack 30 tonight. Nurkic was priced closer to $8,000 going into the season and there is a lot of opportunity here in terms of upside.

Payton Pritchard – G ($3,700 DK) With Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown out for the Celtics, Pritchard is a no brainer for value. Pritchard is the only point guard available for Boston tonight, and we expect him to start and get a lot of run. Furthermore, the Celtics are missing a ton of guys up and down the roster. As a result, we expect that Pritchard has some solid usage here and is one of the few Boston guys creating offense. Pritchard is so cheap here and we are not concerned about him giving us value, while he does have upside to be a fantastic play.

Jayson Tatum – F ($10,000 DK) Tatum has some fantastic upside tonight with everyone out for Boston. Tatum is always the first option for this team, but tonight Tatum will be forced to create all night. The Celtics have a fantastic matchup against the Nets tonight. Brooklyn probably have the worst defensive frontcourt in the league and play at a solid pace. Every factor we can look at looks perfect for Tatum here, and he has been showing a lot of huge games. This price is somewhat expensive for Tatum, but that wont matter if he goes for the huge game we are hoping for.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 4/23/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Bogdan Bogdanovic – SG (7,500 FD) Bogdanovic is a little cheaper on FanDuel then he is over on DraftKings tonight, but we are still paying a solid premium for him. However, with Young out, we must expect Bogdanovic to take on some massive usage. We want more pieces of Atlanta, and it is hard to think of a lot of the other Hawks having a massive game in this spot. Bogdanovic should be the first scoring option tonight, and he could be in for a big game.

Solomon Hill – PF (3,800 FD) We want to take this as an opportunity to talk about some more guys on Atlanta. Clint Capela is questionable for tonight, and we do are not too interested in Hill if he is good to go. However, if Capela is out, the Atlanta frontcourt will look fantastic here and we are happy getting to plays like Hill or John Collins.

Good luck tonight, keep watching the news as we have been getting a ton of information right before lock.

Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.